Mixing Metal Guitars & Building A Tone From SCRATCH

Here's real-world proof that mixing metal guitars can be DEAD SIMPLE.

It's true, guitar mixing can be one of the easiest (and quickest) elements to nail within a heavy production as long as you pay close attention to what actually matters.

On a near-daily basis, I receive questions from subscribers about:

- The Axe-Fx

- Kemper
​
- (fill-in-the-blank) latest and greatest amp sim released that week
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- stereo wideners
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- cabinet selection

- microphone selection
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- overpriced IR packs

- m/s processing

- quad tracking

What if I told you that you don't need any of that crap in order to produce KILLER guitar tones in your mixes?

​In today's tutorial, I show you how to dial in (and mix) a killer guitar tone from scratch...using nothing more than a free amp sim, impulse response and $60 DAW.

Remember, it's not the tools...

​It's how you use them.

[kennyplaysguitar]

I'm learning how to record my solo album, and them I stop in the middle of the project like; "and now, how I am going to mix this?" thanks to you I know now I can do it without losing my mind or kill my ilussions about this project hahaha!, thank you so so much to take the time to do this videos, so simple, so perfectly explained. One big hug and appreciation from Spain my man.

[flmason]

It seems to me (I'm an old guy)... that amp sims do the new metal sound (think Cookie Monster Vocals) very well... but getting classic rock up through say the Hair Band Era... not nearly as easy.

That fizz that seems to be part of the new metal sound, is something us classic guys can't stand, for the most part.

Reams of space were taken on the web 15-20 years ago when Line 6 released the PodXT and it had that kind of fizz in it, that the Pod 1.0 and 2.0 didn't. After messing with it for ages... I never found a way to get that fizz out.

Seemed that if you dropped the gain enough to get rid of the fizz, the life and the sustain were lost... If you low passed it enough to get rid of it... there was no highs at all...

I don't know what the trick is, but the Pod 2.0 "Brit High Gain" model did it right and haven't found another model since, that does. Would love to know what the trick is to good rhythm guitar tone that isn't the new metal fizz-box chugga chugga sound that has been acendant for the the last 20 years or so?

[chrisbasham]

I'm obsessed with that bass tone!

[michaelrichardson]

Keeping it simple is the best. There seems to be an endless amount of new amp sims coming out and it’s so easy to get caught up in the tone chaser mentality. Always feeling like if you can just make it sound a little better and a little better and that starts the endless discontent cycle.

[tgstk]

F yeah!! the video we all have been waiting for from you!!

[MichaelKhaimraj]

Keeping it simple is absolutely the way to go. Definitely guilty of tone chasing, and usually I end up making things worse.

Part of what I think we forget is the interplay of all the instruments. A powerful guitar tone is built in part through a solid bass tone and equally punchy drums. The guitar alone won’t ever work, regardless of how much you mix

[masongregory]

I've been having good luck eq'ing the DI before it hits an amp sim. What it does, is tighten up the tone. Adds clarity to the top end without making the amp-sim sound brittle, harsh or overtly fizzy. Then it seems like the drums and bass have some release, room to breathe, while the guitar still sounds up front and not mushy.

I scoop out about 6db around 300hz with a bandwidth of 1. Then boost 7db at 5100hz with a bandwidth of 1. This can differ depending on the pickup you use. I tend to use an EMG 81 or Het Set for rhythm. I just want my guitar to sound plucky, so I remove any midrange mud that makes the sim or re-amp sound foggy.

It's important to have your guitar setup properly, new strings, intonation, PICKUP HEIGHT and all wiring installed cleanly and functioning. But the DI can still benefit from cleaning up the EQ.

[jimdukeproject]

You make it sound so easy and do-able.

[edgeofdesolatoinguitarist]

yeah i pretty much do he same thing with my guitar i use the bogren amp knob with a tube scremer from nembrini and its badass i have amped roots too and amphub

[lukegeyer]

I honestly never comment on videos, but just had to say this was such a breathe of fresh air.

[Veneficum]

I think the elephant in the room with all the issues people are having is due to not having a properly setup guitar. Guitars are difficult to get right and no plugin is going to fix a DI that has a guitar with dead strings that won't stay in tune and has not been properly intonated.

[Eric-pcyi]

One thing I don't think you touched on: how to do you typically set the guitar's pickups/knobs? Bridge pickup with tone knob turned up all the way?

[didymuskvist]

I used the Amped Roots plugin for a while before I switched to the Stevie T Djentgod plugin. Both are really great sounding.

[MahmoudNader]

It's It's about playing tight / editing .. no matter what gear, what eq or whatever... if the playing isn't tight enough and can't be fixed by editing it will always sound out of line

[Shadowsreach]

Great tutorials! Thanks for sharing! I ususally get kindo of a hollow low mid wah tone on my gutiar tones, Doesnt seem to matter if I an using a cab sim of micing the cab itself. I use your impulse wich is great, and I also bought few that are pretty good. I use a mesa 4x12 57 etc.. If you have any ideas let me know. Thanks very much

[jrfoster]

Great free amp sim - thanks Bobby for a great tutorial as usual.

[aalexanderthegreat]

Love your videos. I had a question nobody seems to answer; I have a Tech 22 Paul Landers Fly Rig and can not find a way to get the DI from it. I have it going from my guitar straight to my 2i2. The tone is perfect, but it makes it extremely difficult to edit without a DI. I’d really like it if you could help me figure this out 🙏. Thank you

[raen]

Thank you so much Bobby, you have no idea how helpful this video was!

[emach]

I have struggle with mixing guitars since day one when I fell in love with mixing. I fell away from it for a while and recently after going into the studio with a friend had the studio send me the tracks so I could play around with them so I am getting back into it. And as usual I can't get my guitar to sound worth a poop. At least in regards to how good it sounded when it came out of those dang speakers and amp. Took years also to get a good sound out of an amp but once I mastered that I can pretty much plug into anything now and get a great tone. But mixing??? lmao man I have a long ways to go but love doing it so will neve grove up. But yeah, as ironic as it is being a heavy guitarist, that's the one thing I never am happy with in my mixes. The dang guitar tones 😭 Just bought your Heavy Mix Fix course as I like your videos and you really seem to know your stuff so hopefully I'll learn a little of something and make some kind of progress lol

[sergioandresvahos]

Hello. What's the correct routing for print the amp sim tone from a DI signal?